Bye Bye, Butterstick: Tai Shan Goes to China

It’s a boy! The giant panda cub had his first health exam on August 2, 2005, when National Zoo staff determined its gender. Photograph by Courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Bye Bye, Butterstick: Tai Shan Goes to China

The National Zoo’s Chief Veterinarian Dr. Suzan Murray, Curator of Primates and Giant Pandas Lisa Stevens and animal keeper Nicole Meese conducted a health exam on Tai Shan when he was a cub in 2005. Photograph by Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Bye Bye, Butterstick: Tai Shan Goes to China

A baby Tai Shan strikes a pose. Photograph by Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Bye Bye, Butterstick: Tai Shan Goes to China

“Oh, look at me. I’m so cute.” Photograph by Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian’s National Zoo